


Superheroes

by etrinh



Category: Call of Duty
Genre: M/M, One Shot, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-18 23:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4724336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etrinh/pseuds/etrinh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gideon learns about the peculiar way that Mitchell deals with his anger. He also teaches Mitchell that he is in fact a hero after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Superheroes

**Author's Note:**

> Pre-relationship Gidchell is my favourite Gidchell and I still can't believe I haven't gotten over these two. This is honestly one of my favourite stories that I've written in a long time and I really hope that you like it!

Often times in the news or on the internet, people referred to Mitchell as a hero. However, no matter how many times he heard this, Mitchell could never accept this as truth.

“Real heroes always fight for good. They don’t hurt other people, unless to combat evil.” he’d say. “I am no hero.”

After having worked at Atlas, and even now with the US government, Mitchell always questioned his moral ground. He knew that not all the fights he had to join were worth fighting for. He knew that he was unable to save his best friend. He knew that for at least 4 years of his life he was fighting for the wrong side. He knew that there was a lot of unaccounted collateral damage that he’d committed without even knowing. He knew that he’d indirectly affected many lives, and not for the better. Mitchell had always assumed that this came with the job of being a soldier. Gideon always reassured him that he had a good heart, and that he always stood up for what was right. Even so, Mitchell didn’t always feel good about what he did.

In order to find solace, the private would sometimes lock himself in his room and break out a box that he hid under his bed. It was a tattered old box, something that Mitchell had had in his possession since he was 7 years old. With a father in the Marines, Mitchell was always fascinated by the idea of superheroes. He’d always ask his dad for an action figure when he returned from duty and they were able to spend time together. Mitchell collected these action figures for many years until he acquired the collection that now sits under his bunk.

Today had been an especially long day, and not a very pleasant one. Cormack had arranged for them to start an intense training program and Gideon, although no longer his captain, was still pushing Mitchell as hard as he could. On most occasions Mitchell appreciated this, but today was definitely not one of them.

“Mitchell, learn to aim! I trained you better than this!”

It had been almost 7 straight hours of training and the soldiers were in the shooting range to finish off their day. Mitchell was extremely tired and irritable. The last thing he needed was for Gideon to be barking orders at him while he was trying to figure how to control his stupid rifle.

“Gideon, enough. I’m trying my best.” he stated flatly.

“Excuse me, private? Don’t you talk to me like that!” Gideon scolded.

“I don’t what kind of power trip you’re on, but unless you haven’t noticed, you’re not my fucking captain anymore, Gideon! I literally don’t have to listen to you, so fuck off!” Mitchell shouted, storming out of the shooting range. His breathing was violent and shaking as he stormed back to his quarters. Quickly entering his room, Mitchell flopped into his bed, angry and exhausted. He didn’t care what Gideon or any of the other soldiers thought, he needed some time to himself. At most, he’d get pulled into Cormack’s office later.

Finally catching his breath, Mitchell sat up and reached under his bed to retrieve the box. Staring at the tattered cardboard, Mitchell blew the dust off the top and opened the box carefully. Thirty faces stared back at him, all attached to bodies adorned with an assortment of costumes. Mitchell dug around inside the box until he found his favourite superhero, Captain America. As a kid, Mitchell always made the Captain fight against all sorts of evil villains regardless of whether or not he followed the plots in the comics. Mitchell admired the Captain’s loyalty, dedication, and want to fight for good, no matter the cost.

Not thinking anything of the situation, Mitchell began to play with the figurine, commentating as he went along.

“Who is this? Why, the one and only Captain America, here to bravely fend off the incoming Communist threat!” he said in his best “radio” voice.

“Bam! Look at that strength!” he continued, knocking over another action figure he pulled out of the box.

Unbeknownst to Mitchell, Gideon was watching secretly from the doorway. In his fit of rage, Mitchell had failed to completely close his door. Gideon had left training early to come and apologize to Mitchell, feeling bad about the situation earlier. However, Gideon definitely hadn’t expected to catch the private playing by himself in his room.

“Oh no, here comes the impending ground forces! What will the Captain do?” Mitchell shouted, setting up a battle scene between his legs on the mattress.

Gideon couldn’t help but smile at the whole thing. It was incredibly endearing to see Mitchell acting so childish, and there was a genuine sense of innocence that reflected Mitchell’s good conscience. Gideon could also see that this was catharsis, though whether to deal with childhood neglect, loss of Will, or otherwise was unclear. Tired of watching through the door, Gideon knocked, startling Mitchell, who hastily tried to cover up his toys with his blanket.

“Oh .. Gideon. What are you doing here?” he asked, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Watching Captain America defeat the ‘impending Communist army’.” Gideon replied, making air quotes with his hands.

“Hey, don’t make fun of me…” Mitchell started, trailing off.

Gideon saw Mitchell’s face fall sadly, and immediately regretted his comment. Without thinking, he grabbed Mitchell’s hands.

“Hey, Jack, I’m not making fun of you, I promise. I’m here because I want to apologize for earlier. I don’t know what came over me, I had no right to order you around like that. I was a proper arse, forgive me?”

Mitchell’s pout slowly turned into a smile as he tightened his grip in Gideon’s hands.

“Thank you for apologizing, I appreciate it.”

“So, what were you doing anyway?” Gideon asked, gesturing at the action figures under the blanket.

Mitchell caved, lifting the blanket to reveal the mess of toys underneath.

“I collected these with my dad when I younger.” he said, lifting up the Captain America figurine. “I used to always make Captain fight against evil villains and I guess I still find it comforting to do so now when I’m frustrated. It’s dumb, I know.”

“No, no it isn’t.” Gideon replied, caressing Mitchell’s leg. “It’s … sweet. I couldn’t stop smiling watching you.”

“How long we’re you watching me anyway?” Mitchell asked cheekily.

“Uh…”

“It’s okay, I’m joking.”

Taking the Captain America figure from Mitchell, Gideon inspected the toy, noticing how well cared for it was considering it’s age.

“So, why Captain America?”

“Well there’s the obvious reason that I’m American, and he’s just plain cool.” Mitchell answered. “He’s also a good leader. He’s brave, smart, strong, and good.”

Mitchell watched as Gideon inspected the figurine, nodding as Mitchell spoke to affirm that he was listening. A warm feeling suddenly started building up in the pit of Mitchell’s stomach.

“He’s a natural born leader, not to mention he’s really good looking. He’s basically you.”

Mitchell wasn’t sure what came over him. He always knew that he liked Gideon, but he never thought he’d admit it out loud, however subtly. The moment just felt right. Gideon was taken by surprise, his attention immediately torn from the action figure. After staring at Mitchell briefly in disbelief, Gideon spoke.

“Well thank you, Jack. That’s awfully sweet of you. You know, you have all of those qualities, too. If anything, you’re even more qualified to be Captain America than me, nationality aside of course.”

A mess of emotions, Mitchell teared up at Gideon’s comment.

“Thank you, Gid. You don’t realize how much that means to me. People tell us all the time that we’re heroes, but I never feel like one.” he admitted.

“After all the sacrifices you’ve made for the team and I, you’ll always be a hero in my eyes.” Gideon said. “And don’t forget, you’re Will’s greatest hero, too.”

Not able to hold it in anymore, Mitchell started to cry, further increasing his embarrassment from earlier. Taking notice, Gideon grabbed the soldier and held him against his chest. Mitchell relaxed and whispered quietly into Gideon’s shirt.

“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading, much love! xx


End file.
